As hospital mergers centralize decision-making, physicians are voting with their case volume — and a growing share of that vote is going to ASCs.
For Martin Jenter, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Integrowth Orthopedic Specialists and Henry Ford Health System, a merger has brought a slower operating room, a frustrated care team and a growing case for treating patients somewhere else entirely.
Dr. Jenter, who is also the medical director of Michigan Outpatient Surgical Solutions, recently joined the Becker’s ASC Review podcast to discuss how EHR mandates and health system consolidation are eroding physician control, and why that’s pushing more of his focus to the outpatient setting.
Note: Dr. Jenter’s responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: In a year marked by rapid change, what recent decision or pivot required the most leadership conviction from you?
Dr. Martin Jenter: In my world, my private surgical center doesn’t use electronic records. We still have paper charts. It’s simple: there’s no pre-ordering the night before, no IV orders to enter in advance and nothing that takes you away from patient care. You show up, see the patient, do the surgery and they go home. There’s no delay and no compromise in care because you’re trying to comply with an EHR that a hospital system is mandating.
I was recently doing surgery, and it was delayed because I hadn’t entered the correct dose for a local injection I wanted to use, and the nurse said she wasn’t able to enter any orders herself — so I had to work with a resident just to figure out how to get that order into the computer before I could bring my patient back. Hospital-based medicine, I think, is a disadvantage to both the surgeon and the patient, and I think that’s going to keep driving patient flow and care toward surgical centers.
Q: When you think about the forces reshaping healthcare right now, where do leaders like yourself need to be more decisive?
MJ: For better or worse, an individual physician has very little control or ability to change things at a medical facility they don’t own. I’m at Henry Ford Health System, a big conglomeration , and since it took over our Ascension system, we’ve lost a lot of our ability to do things our own way. We used to run a complete joint program between our two hospitals that was seamless, error-free and with great outcomes. Attached to a larger system now, we don’t have the ability to implement, control or really say anything about how that works.
So I’m driven to make my surgical center more successful, more popular and a better place for people to get their care. As medical director since we opened in 2018, I’ve made it my job to look at every cost, every potential complication — everything positive and negative — to try to affect change for the betterment of the patient.
Q: As uncertainty has become the norm in this space, what leadership habits or mindset have been most critical in keeping your organization moving forward?
MJ: Looking at the hospital system, it’s been sad to see leadership change constantly. Within six years, we have had a number of CEOs before this so-called merger with Henry Ford. Now it’s become more of a centralized, untouchable element. In my surgical center, though, I have a direct hand in leadership. I bring in other surgeons, offer them roles and board positions, and getting other physicians involved has really helped us make the facility and patient care better.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
